LAW OF EVIDENCE 585
- § Facts which are relevant to Facts in Issue.
Section 3. I. Relevant fact means fact connected to the fact in issue.
The connection must be visible and open i. e. must be obvious.
The connection must be immediate and not remote.
The connection need not be necessary connection that would exclude all presumptive evidence, but such as is reasonable, and not latent or conjectural.
Whether there is a connection is a matter of legal instinct or legal sense to be acquired by practice. A few instances may serve for illustrations.
(a) On a Criminal trial of A, the statement of B, who is not a witness that he was the real criminal and that A is innocent would be rejected for remoteness and want of connection apart from the danger of collusion and fabrication.
R vs. Gray Ir. Cir. Rep. 76.
(b) On a suit by A against B for the recovery of £ 5 lent to him, an entry made by A in his diary that B owed him £ 5 would be rejected for want of connection.
Storr vs. Scott. 6 c & P 241.
(c) A as Agent of B, a Merchant residing abroad bought goods of C. At the time of purchase A did not inform C who was his principal; but the invoices described the goods as “bought on account of B per A”. C afterwards drew upon A for the amount. B after receiving advice for the purchase and of the acceptance of bills by A had made large remittances to A. But A had become insolvent in the meantime.
C sued B the principal.
C desired to give evidence of his account books for the purpose of showing that B had been throughout debited by him as principal.
Held that evidence was inadmissible.
Smyth vs. Anderson. 7 C-b. 21.